AniMat's Classic Reviews - Doogal (Transcript)
This page contains the full transcript of AniMat's Classic Review of Doogal that he published on December 8th, 2018. AniMat's Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UGAVmCX33Pg&t= When AniMat Reaction to Doogal: https://youtu.be/NffijhjyQUI Introduction The Magic Roundabout - Kylie Minogue plays (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gtWzGyBEh64) until 0:10 Animat (vo): Doogal. Originally it began as a computer animated feature based on the classic stop-motion series 'The Magic Roundabout', this film would ultimately be known as an entire disaster and it would all be thanks to one of Hollywood's biggest monsters, Harvey Weinstein. What he did was that he took the 2005 film made in the UK in France and tried to completely Americanize it, recasting almost all the characters with American actors and reworking the script in the hopes of making it more accustomed to Western audiences who weren't all that familiar with the original show. The results ended up becoming not only one of the most hated, but also often considered to be one of the worst animated features ever made, like, legit right up there with "FoodFight!", "The Emoji Movie" and the animated Titanic films. Now of course, this pretty much means that I will be reviewing the 2006 American version, but I will be doing so with fresh eyes. I've honestly never seen The Magic Roundabout or the original movie before Weinstein destroyed it, so this will unfortunately be my first roundabout experience. So now that we are about to embark on this magical ride, will we find that the damages have been exaggerated or will this feel like the boat ride from Willy Wonka for 80 minutes? Let's find out. Story AniMat (vo): At first glance, there doesn't seem to be anything wrong, just entering in this cute little imaginative world with talking animals. But once the story starts unraveling itself, that's when the movie starts to go downhill and falls faster and faster to where it would ultimately earn its reputation it has now. Of course, it's not just the actors that make this version different to the original European feature; this film would also make numerous cuts and editing changes where now the characters embark on the most unengaging journey that anyone can put into a movie. The main plot is basically a fetch quest where Doogal and the gang have to find the three diamonds to restore the Magical Carousel or Roundabout to stop the evil Zeebad from freezing the sun who managed to escape due to Doogal's mischief getting carried away. From there, the story itself is already predictable to the point that it feels formulaic where the characters go to a new area, avoid obstacles, find a diamond and somehow get it in the hands of Zeebad. Rinse and repeat. However, that's not the movie's biggest issue; it's not the story itself that makes the experience unbearable, it's the execution. The audience is stuck with these poorly developed characters that's near impossible to be emotionally attached to and the humor that tries to forcibly put itself in throughout the entire movie. Okay, let me just say right now that this film has absolutely no idea how the concept of comedy works, like, at all. It desperately attempts to deliver a gag every second that it has and all it does as jokes is just randomly saying pop-culture references thinking that just because they said it it would get a laugh. And by the way, I actually mean that literally. (Mummies start coming from out of the ground.) Mummy #1: 'Here's Johnny! '''Mummy #2: '''Somebody order ribs? '''Mummy #3: '''Bring out the dead! '''Mummy #4: '''Pirates of the Caribbean! '''Mummy #5: ' Hey, Johnny said no Disney jokes. '''AniMat (vo): The only positive thing that I could ever find in the writing would have to be the world that it's set in. I'll give it that its environment does have some strong creative elements that can lead to some fun ideas to explore. However, the only reason why the world would seem good is because it was already made in the original Magic Roundabout. It's no thanks to the movie and certainly no thanks to the Weinstein Company that it would have an element that doesn't seem horrible. There obviously could have been better ways to execute the story. Weinstein could not have picked one that was any worse than this! Animation AniMat (vo): Admittingly, a part of me doesn't want to go too hard on the animation since that element is mainly crafted by the original filmmakers with no American touch. I do get the direction where the visuals want to go by bringing the world of the Magic Roundabout to CGI and especially with the designs, they do stay true to the original source material along with expanding its world to present many of the area's creative possibilities. My one little criticism there would be the way it tries to make the characters look more organic, including putting in as much details as possible in their ridiculously small eyes. However, with that said, it is understandable to say that the animation itself is not that good, even by 2005 standards; for the most part, it does look cheap and not because it wants to emulate the style of the show's stop-motion, but more because its budget couldn't afford anything better. Not only does it bring in some consequences like weird-looking textures and the characters movements feeling stiffer, but it also makes it obvious that the animators try to cut around corners to save some money. Like, look at how they modeled Doogal, I'm convinced that he does not have a body or even have any legs, he's literally just a walking ball of fur with a head. Doogal: 'Sorry. (''Doogal bounces off his friends, each grunting annoyingly.) 'Doogal: '''Look at all these cool plants. (''A plant hisses at him and he backs away.) '''AniMat (vo): On top of that, the film does bring out the sense that it might have some issues with its timing. What I mean is that it can happen when some intense scenes can feel a bit slow and some casual quiet moments feel like they go a little too fast; it makes it a bit difficult to be engaged with it knowing that a scene looks like it can be fun, but again, the execution is messing things up. But I will say, though, regardless of how bad you think this movie is, there will always be one scene that is admittedly awesome: a fire and ice battle between two spring gods using their mustaches as weapons. (The aforementioned battle between Zeebad and Zebedee is shown.) AniMat (vo): Would I say that the animation here is the worst? No, but then again, I could definitely say with confidence that I've seen better. Characters AniMat (vo): I'm sure these are characters that have been beloved for many decades and have touched the hearts of many generations through the show. Here however, every single one of these characters are infuriating pricks! especially when all they do is spew out nothing but unfunny references! Seriously, they all have this unlikeable personality with little to no development with the exception of Zebedee, who is the generic 'father figure' of the place. First, you got Doogal, who's a self-centered dog that only cares about himself and his owner Florence, a little girl who sounds like she already passed puberty years ago, and has a candy obsession that the movie frames it like he has a drug addiction. Doogal: All I wanted was to get my paws on some candy. Dylan: Yeah, it starts with candy bars, man. Maybe a Snickers fun size and before you know it, you've eaten all the Three Musketeers and their families. Brian: Oh, yeah. Dylan: Maybe you've got like, a problem, my furry friend. Doogal: No, I don't! AniMat (vo): Along with them are a train that can sometimes talk for some reason, Ermintrude, a Miss Piggy-styled diva, Dylan, a rabbit that tries to really play up the hippie art type, Brian, a douche snail that has a crush on Ermintrude, and a moose that would occasionally appear just to fart. Together, they would go off and face Zeebad, an evil version of Zebedee that uses ice powers that is accompanied by his dumb assistant, Soldier Sam. Now, I've already mentioned before that the biggest problem here would be the execution, along with the horrible humor. But there is another big problem that would corrupt the entire movie: The voice acting is absolutely terrible! In the American version, nobody sounded like they wanted to be there and would put in no effort in their performance, on top of whatever they say don't even line up to how the lips move, adding in an extra layer of awkwardness. Ermintrude: That's it, show's over! We're finished! And just as I was about to hit it big. Doogal: You are big. Ermintrude: Thanks, Doogie. But I want to go out singing like Aretha, not grilled up like some big old sirloin steak. AniMat (vo): But what is honestly shocking about the acting is that this actually has a prominent all-star cast. Not only highly-respected and award-winning actors, but some of these people are also known to be really funny, like Chevy Chase, Jon Stewart, Bill Hader, Whoopi Goldberg, William H. Macy, Jimmy Fallon, the list goes on! They have the credentials to deliver a great performance. But in here, nobody gave a single crap and treated this like either a quick paycheck or a favor that they had to do for Harvey that they wouldn't have said 'yes' to if they had the choice. As a result, they made the characters sound so dull and unlikeable. Like, if the actors were putting in no emotion onto their dialogue, what makes you think the audience would care about these guys at all? There's nothing written-wise to like about them, there's nothing performance-wise to like about them, so in the end, these characters are worthless! Conclusion AniMat (vo): When you think of the term 'Americanizing', you'd probably think that it would mean to make something more accustomed to Western society. In this case however, Americanizing would also mean to make something completely undesirable! The Weinstein Company version of Doogal is an absolute disgrace, both as a movie and to the original series it's based on. It contains absolutely no charm or likeability with a dull and unengaging story, unbearable humor that's anything but funny, no sense of pacing, weak animation, hateable characters, and terrible acting from admirable celebrities that just didn't care about this! Honestly, I highly recommend that you avoid this one no matter what. If you really are that curious, then stick to the 2005 European version. Sure, it's not as legendarily bad as the American one, but at least it'll save you from the anger and the headache from wasting your time from a movie that presented no talent at all. The only thing it's worth doing with this is just giving it the AniMat's Seal of Garbage, and even that feels like a waste of time if it means giving this movie any attention. So if nobody cared when making the Weinstein version, then it's safe to say that nobody will care that I can call this a worthless piece of garbage! 6. Ratings Story: 1/10 Animation: 4/10 Characters: 1/10 Overall: 2/10 Category:Transcripts